Is Baby-Led Weaning ACTUALLY Better Than Spoon Feeding?

[@NecroMorrius]

We did a mix of both from the start and he chooses what he wants. Sometimes he gestures to be fed and sometimes he picks up handfuls and shoves it in. I think it’s good for him to practice his fine motor skills and have fun with food but sometimes it’s easier and much less messy to spoon feed him. Being truly “baby led”means he sometimes wants to be spoon fed!

[@EmmaHubbard]

Love this!

[@pitounesky7604]

I totally agree. That's what I'm planning to do with my little one. I think a mix of both methods is less stressfull and more flexible. ;)

[@laughsmilegiggleXD]

I really love this approach!!

[@petal8829]

agreed ! We also do combo. Full BLW is soo messy with twins,

[@brontec9769]

We've done the same thing with our daughter! We started with spoon fed but after a few months moved to messy food play. She LOVES it but she also has some spoon fed meals. We just took it step by step and introduced solids via baby led weaning to work on gagging. It was challenging, but eventually she got over the gagging, and we just took it step by step, introducing different solids one a time. Now she's a little foodie and absolutely loves almost all the food we give her and enjoys home cooked meals above everything else. :)

[@mamalovesbeige]

My son is 6 months and currently on purees. BLW makes me nervous , but will try little by little. My first born didnt BLW at all and he turns out great. Mamas, BLW or purees, AS LONG AS BABIES ARE EATING, you are doing great!❤

[@tejasigadkari4701]

Thank you for sharing your experience! Made me feel better about following a traditional approach for my underweight baby.

[@Squawk24]

It should make you nervous. ONE study that says the risk for choking isn't higher, AS LONG AS caregivers know which foods are appropriate for the age group's mouth muscle and coordination, isn't reliable information. BLW as a sole method of weaning to solids is dangerous.

[@petyrparker]

Wish I could love this comment as it's so helpful and aligns with what I always thought ❤ Its ok to spoon feed your baby initially when starting solids. Once they develop teeth and are able to fully support themselves we can start letting them feed themselves and explore food on their own 😊 This BLW fad has been blown out of proportion by social media making already stressed poor new parents more anxious

[@tamannashoor9638]

Thank you

[@tatyanar8350]

Exactly, also for BLW babies shown are much older then spoon feeding

[@cathykrueger4899]

I had no idea there were names for the way we feed babies. I’m very old. I’m so glad I raised my children before the feeding police came along. Thank you for the real facts and for listing the studies for us. I watch your videos because they are informative, based on research, and so very helpful to young mothers. I wish you had been around 50 years ago. Think of the contribution you are making.

[@EmmaHubbard]

You are so welcome!

[@brittanyphillips2667]

Thank you for this information! We did spoon feeding for our daughter when she was a wee one but received a lot of unsolicited advice from some passionate BLW folks in our life. I’m so glad BLW works so well for so many but the portrayal of BLW being “the right way” really hurt my confidence as a new mother. Having spoon feeding validated as a viable option makes my heart feel lighter.

[@chelle2093]

Thank you, I had 3 children who were spoon fed (my youngest is 15yrs old) and they were no way overweight or picky eaters… As long as you are feeding them healthy food then there shouldn’t be a problem… I then became pregnant again and now have a 6mth old baby and have been pushed by health nurses with BLW… I’m sticking with the traditional way as I feel safer and of course will introduce finger food slowly and will do a mixed approach for now

[@s.m.9149]

I started pureed but my girl began losing interest in solids. She's very independent, so I switched to BLW and her eating improved- as well as her fine motor skills- grasping, pinching. I also noticed she wouldn't like the pureed version of food but did as BLW- peas, carrots etc. I do think she is a less picky eater but her tastes change. She recently stopped liking eggs when she prev gobbled them up. I'm now starting to offer more liquid foods to teach her spoon control and that not all foods need to be munched on. Each baby has their own way of doing things and what's best for them. Being flexible is key. I had all these firm ideas on how I would raise her but she's her own person with her own ideas lol I'm learning. 😁

[@kathrinkaefer]

We've been doing a mixed approach, depending on what's convenient, and so far I can't say that one is better than the other. At first we did more purees because baby was a little behind on weight gain but we are doing more and more BLW now as baby gets better at actually eating the food.

[@mg8132]

This makes me feel better. I was getting a lot of mom guilt for doing the traditional purée method. My friend constantly sends me stuff of her little one (6months) eating toast while my boy (8months) is working on thick purées.

[@paigemaddi]

Gotta love when other people try to parent YOUR children 🙄

[@chelle2093]

Same here… i will tell you I did it 15yrs ago with my 3 children and they are perfectly healthy & fine… I now have a 6mth old and I am doing the same approach but will throw in something in his meal that he can try and eat on his own … no matter what way.. they will be fine so don’t feel guilty 😊

[@adev8565]

Studies show that babies eating using BLW are much more likely to choke and requiring hospitalization. I'll take eating purees over an increased chance of having a dead or disabled child any day.

[@lynnwilliams5735]

There is such a short amount of time that your children actually need you to feed them. Enjoy that time by doing what works best for all of you.

[@elkitse1158]

I agree 😊

[@Kerstin-cq2uv]

We started with a spoon and we just offered her food as much as she wanted. If she just ate a few spoons that's fine. Most times she wanted to take the spoon herself and we let her do it. Now with 8 months she doesn't really want mushed food so we are going to change to blw. We take our time and let her choose. 😊

[@sidneysun5217]

thx for this video. i always feel pressured to do these new-age child-raising methods like BLW because it's supposedly better than what my mother used or her mother before her etc. im just using spoon-feeding method because it makes me feel like a parent and i'm contributing as a dad. my kid is healthy and that's all it matters in the end.

[@EmmaHubbard]

This is fantastic!

[@kalyanideepali]

I was looking for this comment 😊

[@tigereyes5]

There is nothing “new age” about blw. It’s been around for yonks.

[@rebeccanakashima]

Love how informative this video is, almost like a "nonpartisan guide" to feeding littles. 😂 We are starting with spoon feeding and will see how it goes. If we need to shift gears towards BLW, then we will. Your free guides are the best part of these videos! Love, love, love! 🙌🏼🫶🏻

[@rachelle2227]

I found BLW to be more convenient, and I didn’t have a lot of anxiety regarding choking (it helps that I’m not an anxious person in general, and I did my research). My baby did gag at first, but it was fine. I did stare at her a lot at first, to show her how to chew, but I was hands free and could feed myself. It also seems like it would be easier if you had another child. She’s still pretty fussy sometimes during periods of meal time at 9 months old, but she’s really good at eating, and never gags anymore. I usually have her high chair by me while she finishes and I do dishes since she takes a while to eat. The mess is one of the harder things, but it’s fine, I just got a wet/dry vacuum which helps a lot. She is at the age where she’d be eating finger foods either way, of course. Something to note is that some people still feed purées from 4 or 5 months old, but BLW is only recommended for 6 months of age and up, though increasingly people are recommending solids begin at 6 months, regardless of feeding method. So in the past, I think most people fed their babies before 6 months of age (at least in the west), and so would not have had a choice but to spoon feed initially.

[@EmmaHubbard]

Thanks so much for sharing this great information.

[@yellowyosh470]

My thoughts exactly! Baby led weaning just seems to be easier for us :-)

[@debrasnipes7431]

More convenient for you. 🙄🤦‍♀️

[@rachelle2227]

@@debrasnipes7431 why so bitter? It worked for me, I’m not judging other parents that did something different. I look forward to doing blw with my second baby too. I can give some of the same foods to him as I give to my toddler, and be more hands free.

[@saiwhat8357]

@@rachelle2227yes exactly

[@brisakeizer4050]

I did BLW with my first & loved it. With my second I’m mostly spoon feeding & really enjoy the interaction with her. Big downside to BLW is the HUGE mess & food waste it causes in the beginning.

[@ejaptiankid]

We do a combo of table foods and/or spoon-feeding depending on what we have on hand at each meal time. Thanks for the thorough video!

[@bettyslowwastelife9731]

I love BLW personally. I love that she was part of family meals straight away. Her motor skills are amazing. I love how independent she is. She is listening to her body. For our family it has been amazing! She is getting less messy as her motor skills are improving.

[@EmmaHubbard]

So great you were able to find out the method which suits you and your little one!

[@valdius85]

Thank you for sharing. Just a note for someone who was obese all his life until I read enough to understand thing. Most obese people told me “they listen to their body” in terms of what they eat. That means eating processed carbohydrates, very sweet fruits and big amounts of honey. Commonly more carbs than I eat now on a day I go to the gym for one hour. Please be careful. Obesity makes life much harder.

[@meiwa2020]

After my child gagged then vomited TWICE with stuff that should have been safe for BLW I gave up (once I had to spend 2hrs cleaning the carpet). He's doing better on purees and loving it. When he wants it he'll lunge forward to the spoon and I'm grateful that I don't need mom guilt over him failing BLW ❤

[@bgvarra3910]

Thank you for this video! I saw it at the right time as my bub is turning 6 months this week! I’ve heard of BLW but I didn’t know what it was until I saw this video. I’m honestly open to both. As of right now though, we’re going to start with spoon feeding and if we need to switch to BLW, we’ll do whatever makes her feel comfortable.

[@cinnamonndonuts]

Your advice is always super helpful and informative, thank you! This come at the perfect time ☺️

[@EmmaHubbard]

You're so welcome!

[@_Becx]

Same! My daughters about to start solids and she had a cleft pallete so I feel like mixing both methods will be best for her/us 💖

[@erinw6726]

We do combo feeding. Our pediatricians have recommended starting baby food at 4mo IF our babies were interested. They were very much interested so we do purees until 6mo and then start introducing some BLW style foods. We continue with combo feeding for as long as baby is interested in the spoon feeding. My daughter refused to continue spoon feeding at 8mo but my son is still ok with very occasional spoon feeding at 10mo. My son is the bigger eater and is more adventurous than my daughter ever was when it comes to food. He just has a higher calorie need since he's in the upper percentiles for height while my daughter was always closer to just under the average. We pretty much save purees for when we are traveling or when he is backed up we have a specific puree blend that we know will get him to poop within 12hrs. When we were hit with a hurricane and were without power we did go back to purees for our son because they were shelf stable, safe to serve as is, and much lower in sodium than the other foods we had to be eating for about a week. There's a time and a place for all types of foods. As I tell all of my new mom friends, responsive feeding is more important than the specific method of introducing food and some babies will do better with one method over another method. We teach the baby signs for "more" and "all done" at 6mo which helps a lot and before reaching that point we still follow baby's cues.

[@EmmaHubbard]

Thanks so much for sharing! You are right it is more important that we are responsive to our babies cues during mealtimes and follow their lead on whether they want more food or if they are finished. Thanks for this great reminder!

[@theFABS-Prov2717]

This was wonderfully relevant for us at the stage we are in right now! Thank you so much for sharing!

[@EmmaHubbard]

No worries at all!

[@TeaAddict]

Thanks so much for this video Emma! My LO is 4 & a half months old and I'm just starting to think about what kind of approach I might like to use when introducing solids and it's reassuring to hear that both (followed carefully and with consideration) are just as effective. Perfect timing!

[@saotul]

Even at 14 years old, my mom would sometimes spoon fed or hand fed we sibling. She's gone at the end of that year. Now at 37, that's the most memorable thing i can think of about her

[@makingmelanatedmoves]

My baby has advanced motor skills because of playing . Not by giving him finger foods that end up all over the floor and his hair . BLW IS A TREND and produces so must waste

[@PunkRockJock00]

Thank you for this fair, balanced, and rational approach! So helpful and made me feel a lot more confident in introducing solids to my baby. :)

[@hilarythome3283]

My approach is to do a mix. I tend to offer whatever I’m eating (as long as it’s baby safe). Sometimes it’s something she can pick up, sometimes it’s a softer mash. For example, today I gave her half a banana to hold and chew on. Whatever she didn’t eat was mashed with a fork and fed with a spoon. I really like the app called Solid Starts because it shows how to serve foods from the BLW approach, depending on a child’s age.

[@Bamlover03]

So glad you did this, I've been watching since I had my twins nearly 8 months ago. Being premie we've been seeing a speech therapist for them. So we'd been going back and worth on how to feed them. But I think we've been naturally leaning towards a combo, so this helps alot.

[@EmmaHubbard]

So glad this video was able to help you feel comfortable with your decision. The combination approach is great!

[@EmmaHubbard]

Thanks for watching. Which method fits your and your family? And if you would like to do BLW make sure you check out the free BLW training with Katie Ferraro to learn how to do BLW safely: brightestbeginning.com/blwworkshop

[@Hugofurcy-fq9lm]

@EmmaHubbard what if baby doesn't poop after weaning to purée carrots for the first time please?

[@lanakranz9227]

I was completely put off of BLW because of the ATTITUDES of the people who were telling me I should do it. They were so negative and aggressive about their position that I told them to f*# off and would not entertain the idea at all simply to spite them. The kids still ate when the family ate. Only ate food they willingly opened their mouth for and stopped when they lost interest. I really really really wish people would just stop telling people what to do. It's become the new "breast is best" battle cry. It's like they think the last sixty years (of spoon feeding) has resulted in adults that don't know how to chew.

[@EmmaHubbard]

I’m sorry to hear you had that experience! There certainly is a lot of tribalism around certain topics in parenting that isn’t helpful. It’s why I never judge, and simply aim to provide information to help parents make the best decision for their family. Whatever that decision is it should be respected. 💜

[@lanakranz9227]

@@EmmaHubbard Its bizarre how these cliques form now. Its worse than high school. I blame social media. Back in the day before it people minded their own business a lot more. My own mum told me "it just never came up. We didn't ask."

[@maryanneevans8812]

My thoughts exactly

[@leroray8147]

There is huge question about the safety regarding pesticides and nitrates in food. While puree manifacture is strict in controlling this, how to minimze the risk of exposing your baby to these when you buy and cook vegetables?

[@bburgess5003]

BLW weaning was wasteful with my first child. He threw so much on the ground and we couldn’t afford to waste like that. I’m trying to do a little of both methods with my second child who is almost 11 months old now.

[@EmmaHubbard]

Thanks so much for sharing. It sounds like you have worked out that the combo method works best for you and your family which is great!

[@vee_grave]

Totally agree! I’m not against my baby making a mess but so much food ends up on the floor and not eaten that sometime I need to bring the food to my baby’s mouth so she actually eats.

[@bburgess5003]

@@vee_grave I’ve struggled being ok with the mess. One of Emma’s other videos said when spoon feeding, let the food dribble down their chin so they get used to the feeling. I’m so neurotic it’s been difficult to not clean baby’s face and hands while eating. I have to make myself leave it.

[@brontec9769]

@@bburgess5003 I'd say let there be mess, maybe not at every meal, but try it once a day and do the cleaning at the end, so she can enjoy her food and you can do it all in one go. I'm not an expert, but we decided to do it this way and our daughter loves her food and eating. It is a lot of work BUT I think the benefits outweigh the mess. It also means she is more independent and doesn't need me to feed her every meal :) Maybe give it a go! P.S And yes I totally understand the waste. We unfortunately do waste a lot of food both fresh and jar food, but it is almost impossible to get around this. Maybe try with things like rice or grains, or pasta, where the expense isn't too great and serve small portions and then top up.

[@bburgess5003]

@@brontec9769 Thank you I’m going to try those. My first child was almost strictly spoon fed and he is the pickiest eater at 6 years old. I don’t know if those two are related but I’m going to try to do it differently with the new baby. I’m not a clean freak but the sticky mess everywhere is just a challenge for me.

[@madiha5962]

I have 3 children the youngest one is 11 months old now , in my experience baby actually chooses whether he what puréed food or BLW My 1 one completely rejected BLW 2 nd one was totally opposite and rejected spoon feeding And Believe it or not 3rd one is fine with both spoon feeding and BLW So in my case all 3 children were different 😀 My advice to parents is don’t stress your self and see what your baby prefers

[@EmmaHubbard]

Thanks for sharing!

[@sabine46]

We did a mix of both. Started with all kinds of purees and after a month started adding thickness and textures. And here and there we introduced BLW style foods. He was also allowed to get nice and messy with his foods (oh the cute spag bol faces! 😍)! Now he is 21 months and eats very well, mostly eats what we eat and uses both spoon and fork extremely well! Only thing that is still tricky is tough meat, but he only just got his first molars fully through in the last 5 weeks! 😁

[@EmmaHubbard]

Thanks so much for sharing! Sounds like your little one is a great eater! Hope the molars coming through wasn't to tough for him!

[@andreaguzman7930]

Thank you for the informative video. My baby was born on the large side so I started solids at 4 months because he was showing a lot of interest. BLW did not work out at that age due to lack of skills to pick up and bring food to mouth. Now he is 6 months and I do a mixed approach. I highly suggest the website solid starts for all parents needing help with BLW.

[@EmmaHubbard]

The mixed approach is great! Also i agree the website by Solid Starts is a fantastic resource for BLW. Katie Ferraro (a registered dietitian who specialises in BLW) also has a great website for parents to use if they are interested in following the BLW approach. www.fortifiedfam.com/

[@valoxsen6003]

My mom employed a combination of both methods when I was a baby. She started spoon-feeding me purees at 4 months old (yep, earlier than recommended) and then gradually introduced me to non-pureed solids. By 8 months old I was feeding myself soft foods with a spoon, and by 10 months old I had developed the dexterity to use various utensils (spoon, fork, training chopsticks) to eat full-on meals. My mom simply served me whatever she and my dad were eating, so I never became a picky eater. I feel like a lot of exclusively BLW and anti-spoon-feeding moms these days vastly overthink things.

[@WoodieYang]

I did BLW plus spoon feed at first, then gradually change to BLW as that's what my daughter preferred. And she's very advanced with fine motor because of BLW.

[@EmmaHubbard]

Thanks for sharing

[@bunnysm]

I did both. Started with BLW, but he also liked purees and he still likes soups. Just never forced it. I would argue that BLW is more work than purees because you can make and freeze a large batch beforehand and unfreeze it even if the family opts for a takeout. No need to marry any of the methods, both work well, follow your baby.

[@EmmaHubbard]

Great advice!

[@mimprincesa]

Thank you! I needed this. My baby just turned 6 months and I have a lot of anxiety around bubs choking

[@egr3071]

How did it go? I’m where you were now with your old comment.

[@darksylveon6244]

The thing is you can add texture to purees. I've given my son smashed up Farley's rusks on top of a fruit puree to give him a fruit crumble like the adults were eating.

[@renred5]

Nice video! it gave me more confidence when feeding my 10-month-old baby. We do a mix of spoon feeding (when giving bland food) and BLW (when giving finger food). I have one question though, when should one drop spoon-feeding completely and how can one encourage the baby to eat bland foods by herself with the spoon? Thanks a lot for your videos Emma! they have helped me so much! Greetings from Germany :)

[@EmmaHubbard]

Glad it was helpful! And it is great that you find the combination method works for you and your little one. In regards to using the spoon independently, you can start that now. Just make sure you get s suitable spoon with a shallow bowl (in the PDF link in the description box I have a list of spoons I recommend). You might need to help your little one initially hold the spoon but your little one will be able to dip it into the pureed food and bring that to her mouth. It will be slightly uncoordinated at first but she will improve with time.

[@renred5]

@@EmmaHubbard thank you so much! Will do so! 🥰

[@kole1ful]

I use both but lean more to BLW, because I was spoon and force fed as a child and had severe food aversion. I’ll just start crying when it was food time. I had such bad relationship with food and I was a very thin and sickly child. When I turned 20 there about I had the opposite and ate a little too much till I was 24/25. All in all it added to my bad body image all through my teen years. I don’t force or coarse my daughter if she wants to be fed, I feed, if she wants to eat herself she does. And if she throws it on the floor or plays with it, so be it. My Mum tho was trying to tell me to tell her to eat and not play and feed her more and I said NO. As an adult I won’t eat what I don’t like why should I force a child to do so? Why can’t she have a Will??

[@tigereyes5]

I’m sorry you went through that. Our GP tried to get us to force feed our baby as well and I’m glad we didn’t listen. She made play seem like a problem until I read peer reviewed literature that said otherwise. I’ve also read about how this stage being more important for developing their relationship with food and not just the physical eating

[@tigereyes5]

We had no choice but to do blw because my baby was ready to fight us when we tried the purees. She was slow taking to solids generally but now she is getting more interested and eating independently. We’ve been trying to let her use a spoon as well to get used to looser textures. I thought she wasn’t really taking to a spoon until I started giving her the ella’s kitchen smoothies. Now suddenly not only does she know how to feed herself with a spoon but also to hold it out right side up for me give her more lmao

[@vivietamihmih8460]

for me bwl was worse then puree as my kid just wont eat and if i wanted all vitamins it was easier to puree it. also blw recipes while looking good were are fried (that i found) and thats just not for me.

[@oasisfullfilled7617]

My son is 6 months. I have done both. I see both sides. Baby weaning has independence to it

[@wipsybaby]

As always, another great video! In the beginning we spoon-fed, mainly because we started super early. My LO always had trouble drinking milk and het weight was low, so the pediatrician suggested we start early and it went amazingly. Now we do both, breakfast and dinner are blw, lunch and 3 o'clock are spoonfed. These days she does much of the spoonfeeding herself.

[@EmmaHubbard]

Thanks for sharing!

[@yllischannel7446]

Thank you for this video,looking at a lot of videos on tiktok on how amazing baby of 6 mths started to eat on their own but me,as a new mom,when i tried blw for the 1st time,it scared the hell out of me....i cant do it,i was afraid of the choking...now i will only spoon feed my baby but i feel like ive failed as a mom,especially about development of motor skills..you made me feel its ok to spoon feed my baby

[@laurianyrodriguez9819]

I like this video and how you support your argument with evidence and studies. Thank you.

[@EmmaHubbard]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@MentoSsPureFresSH]

Hi, great video. But you Just don't talk about the fact that going From puree to "normal" food Can be difficult. When we tried to change the texture of the meal it became challenging to Make Our daughter accepts the food. That's why for my next kid I will try BLW.

[@karineb.fortin909]

You’re right, that’s exactly what I see in parents around me. My baby is 8 months old and he eats everything (I did BLW). While all my friends that did puree are struggling right now to switch to solid food. At the end it might be the same, but the transition is a lot harder for babies eating puree. It’s a great idea to try BLW with your next child. Don’t feel to much pressure with it, you can also mix BLW and puree 😉.

[@Snowshowslow]

Thanks for this! We wanted to do BLW but because we have to introduce allergens into the baby's purees there, well, need to be purees 😆 Good to know it doesn't seem to matter much which way you go beyond that :)

[@LA_games]

I do a mix! I usually offer a purée along with BLW foods. Little man grabs the spoon from me anyway so might as well let him feed himself he enjoys it more!

[@EmmaHubbard]

Love it! 😊

[@milamilisavljevic5401]

We are doing both, kind of, because we puree food but we don't make our baby eat when she is not interested. She sometimes shoves the spoon into her mouth, and sometimes she asks for help.

[@joynecehernandez287]

I haven’t started feeding food to my baby yet but my husband and I have decided to do both. I don’t see any harm in feeding her puree for nutritional values and flavor, and mixing that with a soft riped banana for her to grab and have fun with it.

[@EmmaHubbard]

We’ve always done a mix of both and I personally really like doing it that way 🙂

[@Libellabella]

We do both ways and are happy with it 😊

[@EmmaHubbard]

That's great!

[@samanthakemp460]

I did BLW with my daughter. I had all the time with her at home so I made her so much different food and my daughter had so much fun trying new foods. She is going to be 2 in February. Probably will do a mix of both for the next baby but let them use the spoon.

[@EmmaHubbard]

Thanks so much for sharing!

[@kristinlaffrey]

Such an informative video! Such great insight!

[@ap3008]

From my observations from others: giving them solids and letting them experiment and try to eat has made children more open to a variety of foods. So, when I’ll have kids - I’ll do that.

[@EmmaHubbard]

Thanks for sharing!

[@NoOctopuss]

Also need to consider proper jaw, mouth, and teeth formation (Weston Price) and because of that I think BLW is the only way for my baby.

[@ennieeleison5308]

I am sorry but Blw in 6 month does not make sense

[@ennieeleison5308]

I think that is a method where the child has to become independent sooner than he is able… is sad trend

[@110498691]

Modern Mothering

[@myria22]

These are words from people who most probably can't stand the mess, read scientific data, and are basically lazy.

[@hannahboutilier98]

Because you think they won't get enough food in them? At 6 months solids is just about exposure - feeling it, tasting it, learning to manage it in their mouth...they don't need to swallow very much as they still rely so heavily on breastfeeding or formula.

[@ennieeleison5308]

@@myria22 I don't need to read scientific studies, I have intuition and common sense. when I raise children I use love. not science

[@dakotamabry1645]

My baby stops eating whether I spoon feed him or not , if he's not hungry he'll just chew on it or put his head away .. I do a little bit of both , I buy baby food for my parents but I pretty much share from my plate because I'm just to tire purree anything and he doesn't always eat it, he mostly has formula in between because I don't eat every 2 hours .

[@DongMndz]

In our Culture which is Filipino we do spoon-feeding.

[@EmmaHubbard]

Thanks so mush for sharing!

[@DongMndz]

@@EmmaHubbard But I will consider BLW Bub soon. I’m a little scared but I know I can do it & bub too. 😊

[@curious_onlooker345]

Same here. Grandparents and other relatives are always telling me to be careful with the baby and ensure to do spood-feeding and pureed foods to minimize mess and ensure baby is eating. I'm interested in BLW approach but will probably do the combination as it seems to have best of both.

[@cathygray141]

I was looking for a good video about this yesterday and boom you uploaded this video 🎉 Love it

[@violettiplady3113]

I do both. Sometimes I would even have a mashed up carrot and a soft stick of it on the plate too.

[@JHuiYi16]

I started with BLW but my baby freaks out with solids in her mouth. Decided to switch to purees and let her self feed with a pre-loaded spoon and she preferred that. After a while, she started refusing the spoon, and I switched to finger foods for a few days, then came back to purees ans she was ok again. I began mixing finger foods and purees but one day she choked on a chicken strip (actual choke, not gag), so i freaked out and stayed away from finger foods for a while. Now, I'm mixing everything lol. Spoon feeding and hand feeding her small pieces of solid food, and letting her self feed purees and finger foods. Sometimes she's happy to be spoon fed, sometimes she keeps grabbing the spoon to feed herself. It changes every meal 😂 I'm very happy with this approach now, bcos she's happy eating the way she wants to. Some ppl say mixing approaches is confusing for baby, but hey…don't underestimate your baby's intelligence, they're really smart! I don't think they'll get confused so easily!

[@misake]

Thanks! I am doing spoon feeding because I was more comfortable doing it, but I couldn't find a good guide on the steps of this month the food is like this, this month it's like that... So I'm slightly behind according to your video. Is there a reference source I can find for this? Thanks!

[@dreaminginjapan]

I live in Japan and they do spoon feeding here. I don’t think people here are picky eaters nor or they obese. I think whatever people choose should just be their preference

[@EmmaHubbard]

Exactly!

[@91dikon]

A mix of both is best for me. Why do you have to choose one?

[@EmmaHubbard]

You can definitely do a mixed approach and this approach does work very well. . It is what you are comfortable with.

[@msezbreezy1]

I allow my son who’s about to be 7 months old to feed himself with the spoon. It’s messy but he likes feeding himself. I’m gradually thickening his food.

[@Squintina]

I'm doing a mix! My 5-month old baby has had pureed potatoes, chili breakfast beans, and green beans (yes, I got the ok from my pediatrician to start before 6 months, my baby was very clearly ready). She has also had BLW meats to lick and chew on (but not eat, it's for taste, texture, and the iron from the meat juices) and she has loved ham steak, and also sliced beef. And I do mean LOVED. She actually cried when I took the remaining beef away. Even for puree, I watch her reaction to make sure she's ok with being given the food so it's still somewhat baby-led.

[@cmjaclarissa]

I did BLW with my oldest and he is a picky eater so I thought maybe I did something wrong. His pickiness did improve a lot after age 2 though. I am introducing purées to my 5mo and he seems to just want to feed himself anyways so I think I’m going to go back to BLW or maybe a mixed approach like others suggested

[@ThanhPham-ic8bw]

in asia most baby are spoon feed and there is not an obesity issue. its all up to the diet kids exposed to.

[@pipersisk3966]

My 4 month old currently eats puréed food but we load the spoon up then hand it off to her to feed herself with the spoon.

[@homg85]

We did BLW mostly with our eldest. Are everything. Got to two and a half, and just become the most fussy eater, will not eat anything of what she ate before.

[@sparklenectar7997]

I really would love to go with the BLW. My baby just turned 6months and was exclusively breastfed and now seem not to enjoy eating when we started solids. I try changing the meals but he fumes excessively once food is taken to his mouth but loves to drink water. I need him to eat. This made me not to be able to continue BLW but I had to change to spoon feeding hoping he will get use to food at 7months.

[@913oszti]

As I saw, sadly parents who are spoonfeeding are not modifying the texture as their child grows - at least where I live. Anyway my baby is sooo interested in feeding herself that I would not have the possibility to spoonfeed her even if I would have wanted to 😂

[@EmmaHubbard]

😂 Some bub's are super independent and finger foods are the only option!

[@kanielsavanah4221]

Well I do both and my baby loves both..

[@EmmaHubbard]

Love this!

[@camillarich]

I think whichever approach you take the most important thing is to not start too early before their gut is actually ready for food, and the cereal they recommend to start with when you do the puree approach has no nutritional benefits and is like getting your kid hooked on junk food from the very begining. But she didn't address these arguments.

[@13myrrh]

Our doctor advised starting solids prior to 6 months so that by 6 months he has at least one solid meal a day not following by breastfeeding. About a month after we started his teeth cane in and the interest in mushy foods went out. He just wanted to bite something. So I fed him tiny pieces like a baby bird.

[@SunshinePearl]

When my baby started eating she was 5 and half months. She didn’t know how to chew so she would always chock so I decided to spoon feed her with purées. She’s 13 months and still eating the same way. I guess I’ll try to give her food in it’s real form when I think she’s ready for it and when she gets the teeth to start chewing. She’s not overweight and she’s very healthy, God bless.

[@IanEugene]

Whatever the approach, I just hate cleaning up. Period. BLW definitely involves more cleaning for sure.

[@llwil2003]

Never bought baby food. Breast feeding and finger food when they were old enough to have the dexterity to finger food and it was safe enough. My child pushed my breast away at a year I was heart broken.

[@Crazee108]

I pre load the spoon for my 6mo and she grabs it and feeds herself. 🤷🏻‍♀️ she very clearly tells me when she doesnt want anything further, keeps her mouth closed and looks away.

[@lindafelgentreff]

Full BLW sounds very messy lol. My baby is 9 months old and quite fussy with eating but it's been getting better since moving from puréed to lumpier food . And he enjoys picking his own food like pieces of banana, of cooked sweet potato pieces or bread crust

[@GreenOverMirror44444]

My baby is 11 months old and he isn’t really interested in feeding himself. He eats mostly purées, but I want to do both.

[@juliagao]

I wish I had seen this video 2 months ago! I felt like there was so much pressure to do BLW lately, and I was so stressed to make it happen. As a first time parent, I relied on internet to teach me a lot of things haha. But now, we do a mixed of BLW and spoon-fed. I agree, it didn't seem harder to do either one, and I usually just cook our family dinner longer so the texture is softer for spoon-feeding sessions. I feel like BLW is a recent thing, but I was spoon-fed and now I eat everything. 😂

[@EmmaHubbard]

Thanks so much for sharing!

[@newtymaxin3500]

I do feed purées but pre load her spoon and just hand it to her for her to feed herself! Finger foods are bit worrying me coz she is sucking a lot instead of chewing

[@evgeniyaselifanova3989]

Thanks a lot for this video! I find that information regarding introduction of solids is confusing, can you please recommend any reliable source regarding combo feeding and spoon feeding? I know that Solids Start is good source for BLW. Just want to do an informed choice. Looking forward to see more videos regarding solids from you! Thanks :)

[@meals1459]

We’re trying both with our 7 month old. However, with a spoon I offer it to her and ask “more”? And let her grab the spoon and put it in her mouth (we hold the spoon not that she throws it 😂). This seems to be working really well.

[@EmmaHubbard]

Fantastic tip! Thanks for sharing this one!

[@kkbakes5493]

What type of fruit to offer a 10 month old baby like puree, raw apple or other way sliced etc plz do a vedio on it

[@stargirl6992]

Is it okay to do a bit of both?

[@rukiapyonpyon]

I was so scared of blw, i have months of frozen veggies ready to be pureed, but she had been sneaking food of my plate i just chop it down to very small pieces and either let her 'rake' it or spoon feed it.

[@Demetra92]

Thank you so much for the info! My 7.5 mo baby eats purees of food including vegies and meat. When and how should i start giving her boiled chunks to play and eat? I tried not to melt her food that much so it had a bit of chunks she could bite, but she did not like this. Thank you!

[@janexoxo6479]

We did spoon feed our first child and he is picky. Will definitely do a mixture with our second child 🥘

[@EmmaHubbard]

Sounds like you have worked out which method works for your family which is fantastic!

[@serarch]

I ve just started weaning my 6 month old. She has two teeth already and likes to bite everything… well everything but food. I ve tried different foods and textures but she still gags and throws up any food she managed to swallow. If i spoonfeed her, she s absolutely fine. I was hoping to use both methods but BLW is not going well and i feel helpless 😢

[@EmmaHubbard]

You can definitely use a combination approach. Also if it helps... when you first start introducing solids the aim is exposure not necessarily how much food your baby ends up swallowing. If your little one touches or smears the food (even to throw it) is a successful meal. With time as your little ones fine motor and oral motor skills improve she will start swallowing more food. I hope that helps!

[@kathrinkaefer]

6 months is still really early. Even the most basic eating skills like chewing and swallowing have to be learned and it takes time!

[@karineb.fortin909]

It’s normal for you baby not to eat a lot at first. They are discovering. The gag reflex will atenuate with time too. Keep suggesting food to your baby. You can repeat many times the same food too. Start with easy texture like avocados and bananas (you can leave the skin or pour baby cereal powder on it to help with grasping). At first my baby was mostly squiching and throwing food on the floor. But after 3 weeks, he got the hang of it, and started to eat a lot. I started a little bit before 6 months because my baby was ready ealier than average, so the age might not be the problem. You baby is ready when they can seat alone and exchange objects from one and to the other. There are others criteria to look for but those two are usely the last one to be acquired.

[@lauraskeet9302]

I feel like that BLW vs spoon feeding study, didn't go far enough, I feel it should asses them in to their teen years and also their attitude towards food to gain a full understanding on whether it increases obesity levels or not🤷🏼‍♀️

[@emilymg1]

Really helpful! Thanks

[@EmmaHubbard]

You're welcome!

[@adisrahajeng8289]

Responsive feeding

[@jenniferarcher-bock9302]

To the BLW people- let’s give babies a plate of choking hazards instead to avoid obesity down the line? 2024 we’ve reached peak common sense denial 😅

[@ThaisRainha]

TKS

[@lauraiamgroot6463]

Hi Emma, a question (I can't seem to find the answer in my books and the internet is indecisive) Disregarding if I start with spoon feeding or BLW how would you approche the amount of food? So for example my son is almost 6 months old, do I just start with a little less milk in his bottle + breakfast like 30 grams of oatmeal. Than for lunch again a smaller bottle + 30 grams of veggies and than in the afternoon again a smaller bottle + 30 grams of fruit. Or do I start with one solid meal a day for a week and build up to 2 and 3 solid meals in a day (of course his milk will be given before every solid meal but in a less amount) I hope you understand my question, I might have asked more complicated than meant.

[@wolfzai786]

I am confused my baby is 6.5 months old I have been trying to feed pureed apple/carrot/ potato but he barely eats more than 3 to 4 baby spoonfuls. ...how can i increase his food intake?

[@EmmaHubbard]

At that age a few spoonfuls is fantastic! I know it might not seem like much but with time he will start to gradually have more spoonfuls. Just continue to offer the food, but be sure to follow his lead and stop spoon feeding him when he indicates he is full.